Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday declared a unilateral Easter cease-fire in Ukraine, ordering Russian forces to halt combat operations from 6 p.m. Moscow time until midnight on Sunday, according to the Kremlin.
The announcement of the Easter cease-fire comes as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to end the war face a critical juncture, with frustration mounting in Washington over a lack of progress.
President Donald Trump, who pledged during his campaign to broker an end to the conflict quickly after being elected, said Friday he would abandon mediation efforts altogether unless both sides show signs of genuine engagement within days.
“If, for some reason, one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say, ‘You’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people,’ and we’re going to just take a pass,” Trump said during a White House ceremony. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”
Earlier that day, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the United States was considering backing out of the negotiations, following his meetings in Paris with European and Ukrainian officials.
“We need to determine very quickly now—and I’m talking about a matter of days—whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks,” he told reporters.
Rubio’s remarks reflect a growing sense within the Trump administration that further U.S. involvement in peace talks may be futile if no breakthrough emerges soon.
While negotiations between Russian and U.S. officials remain active—both through diplomatic channels and via special envoys—concrete agreements remain elusive. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged on Friday that diplomatic contacts are “quite complicated,” adding that “Russia is committed to resolving this conflict, ensuring its own interests, and is open to dialogue.”
Moscow continues to demand sweeping conditions for any settlement, including recognition of its sovereignty over four occupied Ukrainian regions and guarantees that Ukraine will never join NATO. Kyiv and many of its European allies, along with some Trump administration officials, have rejected the demands as tantamount to capitulation.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov confirmed on April 14 that while discussions with the United States are ongoing, even the basic parameters of a cease-fire deal have yet to be agreed upon.
Despite the impasse, Vice President JD Vance voiced cautious optimism on Friday during a visit to Rome, saying Washington believes “there are interesting things to report on” from the past 24 hours of negotiations and that the Trump administration feels “optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war ... to a close.”
Meanwhile, Kyiv has sought to strengthen its ties with Washington through an economic cooperation pact. On April 17, Ukrainian officials announced the signing of a memorandum with the United States on the joint development of Ukraine’s mineral resources—an initiative Trump said is a pathway to peace by aligning U.S. economic interests with Ukraine’s postwar future.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier in the week that the deal remains “substantially what we’d agreed on previously” and details are still being finalized.
The prospective deal could give the United States access to Ukraine’s critical minerals while establishing an investment fund to support the country’s post-war reconstruction. Ukrainian Prime Minister
Denys Shmyhal is expected to visit Washington next week to finalize the agreement.
The war, now in its fourth year, continues to exact a heavy toll. Accusations of truce violations—such as over a U.S.-brokered Black Sea cease-fire and a moratorium on energy infrastructure attacks—have also tested the level of trust between the warring parties.
